Sun unleashes a 'spectacular' solar storm

Handout photo released by Nasa Earth Observatory on June 7, and taken from Nasa's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), sunspot complex 1226-1227, shows the Sun unleashing an M-2 (medium-sized) solar flare, an S1-class (minor) radiation storm and a coronal mass ejection (CME) resulting in a large cloud of particles mushrooming up and falling back down giving the impression of covering an area of almost half the solar surface.

Space.com reports: The sun unleashed a massive solar storm Tuesday in a dazzling eruption that kicked up a vast cloud of magnetic plasma that appeared to rain back down over half of the sun's entire surface, NASA scientists say.

The solar storm hit its peak at about 2:41 a.m. EDT on June 7, but the actual flare extended over a three-hour period. Continue reading...